Swimming pools are common in recreational and residential locations and are a virtual requirement for every hotel and motel. In order to properly serve their intended purpose, swimming pools require care and maintenance. Almost all swimming pools comprise a water recirculating system, with a filtering device to separate out the dirt, airborne dust, pollen and other entrained particulate, which finds its way into the system.
The recirculating water is passed through a cleaning filter of a type well known in the prior art. The filter element is generally in the form of a pleated cylinder of porous material, with an open inside diameter. The filter element is contained in a pressure tight housing and water is pumped from the swimming pool to pass through the pleated porous material of the element before being returned to the pool. In this manner, entrained particulate is entrapped on the porous filter material and the water returned to the pool is cleaned.
As a normal part of swimming pool maintenance, the filter element must be cleaned or replaced at intervals. Replacement becomes expensive over time, so that cleaning and reusing is much preferred. Cleaning requires taking the element out of the housing and washing it with a hose to remove collected particulate and maintain filtering efficacy. While this is something that a homeowner can do, it is a somewhat onerous task, best done bare-footed, in a bathing suit.
Gordon's U.S. Pat. No. 8,069,989, a “SELF CLEANING WATER FILTER SYSTEM”, discloses a device apparently for use in municipal or similar drinking water supply systems The device addresses the cleaning need by using vibration and pulsating reverse flow to dislodge and remove particulate from a filter element. This solution may be effective for the intended application. However, the vibratory and pulsating elements are costly. Moreover, the reversing forces on seals, components and connections will eventually cause fatigue failures, so as to compromise reliability and require careful maintenance.
Objects of the present invention are first, to provide a simple, reliable method and apparatus for cleaning water filters and secondly, to minimize any need for operator involvement or oversight. Yet another object is to minimize routine maintenance of the apparatus.